


Better Late Than Never

by blythechild



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Apologies, Caretaking, Developing Relationship, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Families of Choice, Family Fluff, Family Secrets, Friends to Lovers, Friendship/Love, Happy Ending, Kid Fic, Meet the Family, Reveal, Schmoop, Secret Relationship, Team as Family, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-16
Updated: 2014-08-16
Packaged: 2018-02-13 11:35:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2149215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blythechild/pseuds/blythechild
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Reid finally introduces the team to the daughter whom he's kept secret for nearly seven years. This is a follow-up story to "Father's Day".</p><p> </p><p>This is a work of fanfiction and as such I do not claim ownership over the characters herein. It was created as a personal entertainment. This story includes adult themes and suggestive situations, and should not be read by those under the age of 18.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Better Late Than Never

**Author's Note:**

> This story follows shortly after the end of [Father's Day](https://archiveofourown.org/works/787319). You should read that first or this won't make any sense to you. 
> 
>  
> 
> This whole thing is really just an exercise in exposition because there is no way that I have the energy to explain the seven years that led up to these two scenes without spontaneously imploding. I trust that if you read "Father's Day" and wanted a little background for it, that this will suffice ;)

As soon as the elevator doors shut, Prentiss turned to Reid who was staring calmly at the numbers above them.

“It’s perverse.” She said.

“What is?”

“Using our child as a human shield against these people.”

He looked at her then and laughed a little at the concerned frown that she wore. One hand fell to Izzy’s shoulder as she stood in front of him, wiggling in anticipation of finally meeting the ‘team’ that she’d heard so much about. He raised his other hand to Prentiss’s cheek and brushed it lightly; she leaned into it and the new gold band on his ring finger. He was still getting used to the feeling.

“We’re not using her as a shield. We’re introducing her, like we promised. And if her natural precociousness offsets some awkwardness or discomfort… well, that’s just a fortunate coincidence, isn’t it?”

“I don’t remember you being this Machiavellian…” She huffed but he silenced it with a quick kiss.

“They won’t hate us.” He whispered against her lips. “Not when they see how happy we are. And Izzy’s adorable - no one can withstand her power.”

Izzy made a growling sound between them and Reid looked to see if she was objecting to the kissing as she so often did, but instead she looked up at her parents and grinned like the tiny, dangerous maniac that she was.

“I’m adorable.”

“Yes, you are, mouse.”

“Oh god - stop it, you two. There’ll be no living with her in peace if you keep telling her that she’s indomitable all the time…” Prentiss grumbled just as the elevator chimed and the doors slid open on the sixth floor of the Behavioral Analysis building.

They walked into the main bullpen, Izzy trotting out in front in curiosity. Reid stopped when Prentiss did, standing at the top of the main staircase and looking around in wonder. He’d forgotten that it had been over seven years since she last saw it.

“It hasn’t changed at all.” She murmured.

“That’s federal evolution for you.” He chuckled.

His hand found hers at her side and he laced their fingers together. Then he took a step forward and she followed, descending into the pit of desks and overworked agents who had yet to take any notice of them. Izzy was already way ahead of them - she appeared to have very little in the way of the social anxieties that had plagued Reid at this age - and was walking towards an intimidating figure leaning against one of the nearest cubicles.

“You’re Derek Morgan.” She chirped brightly as the figure turned and blinked at his unexpected visitor.

“I sure am. Who are you, sweetpea?”

“I’m Isabelle Elizabeth Reid.” Izzy stuck out her hand with determination. “Nice to meet you.”

Morgan seemed unsure of what to do for a moment but Izzy persisted with her hand. Eventually, Morgan crouched down and took her hand in his and smiled as Izzy shook it too vigorously.

“You’re my Dad’s friend. He says that you’re really tough and good at figuring out how people think, but you’re not so good at video games. But that’s okay because you don’t need video games to catch bad guys, do you?”

Morgan laughed out loud and then looked up finding Reid and Prentiss standing off to the side together.

“See what I mean?” Reid mumbled to Prentiss. “Adorable defeats _everything_.”

“Let go of his hand, sweety.” Prentiss called out because Izzy was still seesawing Morgan’s hand with glee.

“Guys…” Morgan breathed and gave them one of his irrepressible grins. His eyes flicked over them, saw their joined hands, and then his smile got wider. “J.J., call the others… tell them that Dr. and Mrs. Mysterious are here.”

J.J. wheeled her chair away from a desk in order to see, and then she let out a sort of whoop as she abandoned it entirely racing towards them with her trusty cell phone in hand. She stopped when she caught sight of Morgan and Izzy, and Reid watched in fascination as her body melted into ‘Mom’ mode.

“Hello, Isabelle.” She waved, just like Reid would have, and Izzy waved back. Reid had taken time to explain to his daughter that not everyone liked being touched but he never expected that J.J. would assume that Izzy shared his quirks.

“Hello, J.J.” Izzy grinned and J.J. looked a little stunned.

“We’ve told her about all of you.” Prentiss spoke up in explanation. “She has a good memory for details.”

“Gee, I wonder where she got _that_ from?” It was Rossi striding across the bullpen with his typical half smirk on his face. He moved past the others quickly and gave Reid a brief, rough sort of hug that threw him for a loop before he wrapped his arms around Prentiss. “We’ve missed you, and, apparently, we’ve missed a lot to do with your life over the past few years.”

Rossi kissed Prentiss quickly on both cheeks before giving Reid a meaningful look, and then he turned on his heel to face Izzy. “So, who am I?” He grumbled.

“You’re David Rossi. You write books. I like books.”

“Well then, maybe we’ll become friends.”

“Have you written any books about monkeys?”

“Ummm, no.”

“You should. They’re very interesting. We come from monkeys… I mean, like, waaay back. _I_ came from Mommy and Daddy but, _before_ them there were monkeys. Everything comes from something else - a man named Darwin made a book about it, but it’s got more than just monkeys in it.”

“She has a thing for monkeys.” Reid deadpanned. 

“No kidding.” Rossi chuckled.

Suddenly there was an unholy squeal from behind them that caused Reid’s whole frame to tense even though he’d recognize that sound anywhere. Izzy looked in the squeal’s direction with interest and then cautiously walked towards Garcia who was racing to the bullpen in a blur of silk, platform heels, and expertly applied make-up.

“Oh boy, have I been waiting to meet you, little sister!”

Izzy looked back at Reid, unsure of herself for the first time, but Reid just nodded and smiled a little.

“I don’t have any sisters, Garcia.” Izzy declared.

“I wouldn’t be so sure - I’m not putting anything past your parents at this point.” Garcia shot Reid and Prentiss a look as she bent down to meet Izzy. Reid just rolled his eyes at her. “So, you know who I am. I’m sorry that I don’t know much about you, blossom.”

“That’s because I’m a secret.” Izzy moved towards Garcia with her arms outstretched. Garcia hesitated for a moment but gave in as Izzy wrapped around her in a solid little hug. “But you can know about me now - Mommy says it’s okay.”

Prentiss’s hand tightened around Reid’s but he couldn’t look away from his daughter hugging someone she’d only just met like a long-lost friend. He shouldn’t have kept her from the team - his surrogate family. Even with his infallible memory, he couldn’t recall a good reason _why_ for that particular decision.

Garcia’s eyes welled up a little and she squeezed Izzy to her. “Thanks for the hug.”

“You’re welcome. Daddy says that you really like hugging - not everyone does, but you do. I like it too, but Daddy says I have to be careful with it.”

“That’s ‘cause your Daddy isn’t used to it.” Garcia squeezed Izzy into her ruffles and curls.

“But Daddy hugs Mommy.” Izzy pulled back, a bit confused. “And he hugs me all the time.”

Garcia’s gaze flicked to where Reid and Prentiss stood, still holding each other’s hand, and she let out a sigh that Reid suspected probably had some deep romantic subtext that he was doomed to miss.

“I can see why.” Garcia turned back to Izzy and bopped her lightly on the nose with a manicured finger. “You are awesome at it, ladybug.”

“Who is this?” The voice boomed over the others as Hotch strode from his office and came to stand next to Garcia wearing a characteristic scowl and a formidable dark suit. He crossed his arms over his chest and looked down at Izzy, waiting. Izzy seemed to freeze for half a second, partly curled into the safety and ebullience of Garcia and partly staring at the dark stranger in wonder. Suddenly her expression changed completely into a huge, toothy grin as she freed herself from Garcia and launched at Hotch.

“Hotch! You’re Hotch! Hi! I’m Izzy-” She stumbled a little, caught up in her own enthusiasm, and Hotch bent down quickly to make sure he caught her if necessary. Izzy seemed to remember something, and then pulled herself up and stuck out her hand very formally. “I’m Isabelle Reid. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

An unexpected smile broke Hotch’s armor as he held out his hand and took Izzy’s gently. “The pleasure is all mine, Isabelle.”

Izzy’s eyes grew huge. “Daddy says that you never smile…”

“People aren’t usually so eager to meet me.” He chuckled.

“Oh, Mommy and Daddy have told me all about you, and Jack, and your adventures…”

“Have they?”

“We kept it age-appropriate.” Prentiss smiled at him.

“Who would’ve thought I was _that_ interesting?” Hotch’s eyebrows lifted a fraction in disbelief.

“But Jack thinks you’re a superhero.” Izzy soldiered on in complete seriousness. “He dressed up like you for Halloween…”

“That was a while ago. Jack’s a teenager now.” Hotch huffed and that was commentary enough on how disconcerting a teen’s view of the world could be. “Still, I think that he’d like to meet you. Your father is Jack’s favorite uncle.”

Reid’s eyes dropped to his shoes. Over the years since Izzy’s birth he’d sublimated his frustrated parental needs by being more attentive to Hotch’s son. It never really eased the ache of missing Izzy - quite the opposite in fact - but it did provide him with the small comfort of giving another child a fuller life. When he glanced back at Hotch and Izzy, he discovered his boss looking back at him with a new appreciation for what all of those years had meant.

“But you and Daddy aren’t brothers, so he can’t be Jack’s uncle.” Izzy had her serious face on.

“Hotch is being figurative, baby.” Reid had gone to great pains to explain the difference between the real and the symbolic, mostly because he’d struggled with that himself into adulthood. “I spent a lot of time with Jack as he grew up so I became a ‘pretend’ uncle to him.”

“You do the work, you get the title.” Hotch intoned as he looked at Reid.

“She’s very interested in the structure of families.” Reid explained. “Probably because ours is so unusual.”

“Yeah…” Rossi drawled. “About that…”

“The time has come.” Garcia stomped her foot slightly which made Izzy jump into Hotch’s chest. Prentiss’s grip on Reid’s hand grew tighter as they watched Hotch’s arms reflexively wrap around Izzy in protection. “Explain how this happened.”

“Perhaps this isn’t the right time.” Hotch grumbled at Garcia.

“C’mon, Hotch, we’re all dying to know - even you. Izzy’s six, so this has been going on for a while. I, for one, want to know if my romance radar is damaged or something.” Garcia turned to face Reid and Prentiss. “Were you guys an item when you worked here? Is that why you kept your daughter a secret - some holdover from the interoffice romance taboo?”

“We weren’t together when I was with the Unit.” Prentiss declared but didn’t offer anything more. Reid wondered how frank she was prepared to be about this.

“Daddy went to England to talk to Oxford.” Izzy volunteered with a grin as she wriggled free of Hotch and ran to her mother. So, Reid sighed internally, they were going to be _completely frank_ then…

“It was during one of my annual leaves. I’d written a paper on homochirality that had caught the attention of the Biology Chair at Oxford.” Reid clarified. “We’d been conferring via email, but I’d never been to England, so I decided to go meet with him in person. It was a very stimulating two weeks…”

“But you also went to see Prentiss, right?” Garcia arched an eyebrow. There was probably some more subtext there.

Reid blushed and looked away. At the time, he hadn’t given Prentiss a second thought. He felt her fingers squeeze his and he looked up into her eyes. _Go on, tell them. It’s okay._

“My plans to meet up with a CalTech colleague who had settled in Sussex fell through at the last moment, meaning that I had three open days at the end of my trip. I didn’t really know anyone else there, so, finally I called Emily up to see if she was free for lunch or something.”

“I was, and lunch turned into a five hour session of shoptalk, gossip, and reminiscing.” Prentiss took over with that shy smile that made Reid lightheaded. “I realized how much I missed the States, and the Unit, and you guys. Spencer made me homesick.”

“That might have also been the beer…”

“Yes, there was also a lot of warm beer had that day.”

“I bet there was.” Rossi murmured and smiled knowingly.

Reid looked to his feet again as he felt his face flush. He commanded his brain _not_ to call up the memory of Prentiss leaning towards him in the over-warm pub when he said he should go, and the shape of her mouth when she quietly asked him to stay. He didn’t want to recall how her lips had pressed into his when he agreed, or the surprised moan he made when she opened her mouth under his. He was trying to avoid the sense memory of his joy and terror at barely making it into her flat before they collapsed into each other, tangled up in their clothing made wet by the London rain. Or his surge of affection when she leaned over him as they lay gasping and naked on her floor, and asked him to stay the night. Or even his unfounded sense of triumph when she eventually led him to her bedroom. The two and a half days that followed of her sighs and his moans and take-out in bed and long, whispered conversations as they stared at each other across the pillows flickered across his vision like shuffled cards.

Reid shook his head. “Anyway, her schedule was open, so Emily asked me to stay a few days with her. It turned out to be the highlight of my trip.”

“And that’s when they made me!” Izzy shouted helpfully as Reid hoped that a wormhole would suddenly appear beneath his feet and conveniently swallow him. 

“Hush, mouse.” Prentiss said gently as she covered Izzy’s mouth. “They don’t need to know that.”

The group laughed together while Izzy shot her parents an insulted look. Then Prentiss, fighting her own blush valiantly, continued on.

“I’m not sure what either one of us expected once Spencer went back home, but when I confirmed my pregnancy and told him, things progressed fairly quickly. Once he convinced me that he was in it for the long haul-”

“And I have no idea _why_ it took so much to convince you…” He interrupted and gave her a serious glare. There had been many fights during those seven months where she expended a lot of energy trying to push him away, and he still resented it to this day.

Prentiss looked at him, a little taken aback by whatever she saw in his face at that moment. “Anyway, once that happened, we tried to come up with a workable plan to be parents with an ocean between us.”

“But I don’t remember you taking much time off back then, Reid…” Morgan’s face creased in thought.

“You had the Gunter case in Utah.” Hotch said quietly. “It took a lot of your focus. Reid asked for an extra long annual leave that year. I’m assuming that was around the time that Izzy was born?”

Reid nodded. “I’d made a few sporadic trips before that, but having missed most of Emily’s pregnancy and…” He cleared his throat. “And Isabelle’s birth, I decided to spend as much time as I could organize during Emily’s maternity leave. When that was up, Emily came stateside for several months. She and Izzy shuttled between her mother’s home and D.C. - we managed almost eight full months of co-parenting before she had to return to London…”

“Which was fortunate.” Emily smiled at him. “Because it turns out that he’s sorta an amazing baby whisperer, and I was really in over my head with this munchkin.”

“Call-ick.” Izzy sounded out awkwardly as Prentiss’s fingers smoothed the unruly hair she’d inherited from her father. 

“Wow.” Rossi looked stunned. “I’m trying to picture you changing diapers and doing midnight feedings and singing to a gassy baby…”

“Babies don’t care if you’re tone-deaf, but apparently cranky, tired moms do.”

“Maybe if it had been anything other than the Element Song over and over again…” Prentiss jabbed his side but he caught her hand and kissed her knuckles to prevent further assaults.

“Oh jeez, you guys are cute.” Garcia blinked at them in wonder. “But here’s what I don’t get - why did you keep this all a secret for so long? Maybe we could’ve helped…”

Reid took a deep breath and then let it out slowly as he looked down again. “Listen, it wasn-”

“It’s because of me.” Prentiss interrupted. “I did everything in my power to sabotage this relationship - I pushed him away more times than I can count. You wouldn’t believe how hard he’s fought for this. He’s battled me _to keep me_ , and to fight to stay in Izzy’s life.” 

She turned to look at him and he was shocked to find her close to tears. “I’m so sorry, Spence. All the wasted time…”

“Mommy?” Izzy looked up, eyes huge with concern at her mother’s unexpected fragility.

“S’okay, baby. Mommy didn’t lose Daddy in the end, did she?” Prentiss forced a grin and it calmed Izzy a little. The girl clutched at her mother’s legs and hid her face away from the crowd.

“Okay, Reid women… maybe that’s enough emotional honesty for one afternoon…” Reid drew Prentiss against him and kissed her cheek, and then bent to kiss Izzy’s head as she continued to hide. When he stood again and faced his team, he felt newly fortified by the nearness of his wife and daughter. _Wife and daughter…_ , he rolled the statement over in his head and enjoyed the spurt of excitement that it still gave him.

“The truth is that we haven’t really done any of this the smart way from the very beginning. And I’d understand if you guys were angry at us about this pretty significant omission. We would’ve liked you to be a part of this, but as Emily said, it was… difficult in the beginning. I didn’t know if we’d make it and, I guess that I didn’t want you guys to have to pick sides. I was ashamed that I might not be able to hold onto my family, that I was no better a man than my father had been. But I was never ashamed _of_ my family, or of you. By the time Emily and I got to a place where we understood that we loved one another and we were committed to this life together, years had passed. Then it just became awkward: how do I raise the conversation that I had a three year old daughter living in England with a woman that no one could picture me with in the first place?”

Faces went blank and glances flashed around the room as he made his point. “Well, it’s true, isn’t it? How many of you asked Hotch if he was joking when he broke the news?” Reid slowly nodded. “Yeah, I’m the guy that you all thought wouldn’t lift his head from a book long enough to land a girl. And you were very nearly right. I managed to do it all backwards: I worked with her for six years and didn’t really see her, and then we had a child, got to know each other, and fell in love. So much for having a genius I.Q.”

“Well, you got each other. That’s all that counts.” Everyone looked to Hotch in surprise as he spoke softly. “Better late than never.”

“Anyway, that’s our story.” Prentiss took over, her armor back in place for the moment. “And we’re sorry that it took us so long to tell it. Like Spencer said, it was never something that we felt shame about, it was just… private for a long time.”

Reid watched as both J.J. and Morgan’s expressions subtly changed. They both understood the desire for personal privacy, and Reid suddenly felt that the breach he and Prentiss had caused between the team wouldn’t be so hard to mend after all.

“ _You_ are our family… all of you.” Prentiss continued. “We really want you to be a part of this, to be in Izzy’s life. We both feel that it’s essential - that’s why we’ve told her as much as we can about each of you.”

Izzy turned in Prentiss’s grip to blink back at the semicircle of strangers around her. She’d put on a good effort, but Reid knew from experience that Izzy’s moods could turn quickly and she was starting to appear tired from the ‘newness’ of everything. She looked up at him, eyes dark and round, and then walked over to him with her arms out in a familiar gesture.

“Daddy?” She asked shyly.

“You’re getting too old for this, mouse.” He murmured, but bent down nonetheless and collected her up against him. He stood again, his bad knee complaining, and glanced back to find his friends staring in wonder at the easy tenderness he gave to his daughter.

“Enjoy it while you can.” J.J. said to him softly as she smiled. He heard Garcia make an ‘awwww’ sound that he’d probably regret later, but right now he was just happy that he’d won over two friends again.

“Families forgive.” Morgan nodded.

“They have to.” Rossi’s smirk was back. “‘Cause no one else will put up with all of our collective eccentricities. Besides, I can’t afford to divorce any more people from my life… I’m in. Though, I suppose that I was never really out - your secret was a shock, but not an unforgivable one.”

Agreement with Rossi’s statement seemed to ripple across everyone as they stood there, and Reid slumped a little, surprising himself with how much tension this meeting had built up in him. He needed these five people almost as much as he needed Emily and Izzy; he wasn’t sure how he would move forward if they hadn’t been able to forgive a seven-year lie. 

“We’re all in.” Hotch had crossed his arms again, as if this was all a done deal. “I don’t think that was ever in doubt.”

Reid heard Prentiss let out a breath of relief beside him, and then he felt the warmth of her palm land along his back as he held Izzy. He pressed against it gratefully; it felt slightly surreal to be on the threshold of achieving everything that he’d ever wanted: meaningful work, acceptance from others, a family to call his own…

“Thank you.” Prentiss said the two words with weight because thanks, like love, is a small word that has big implications. Sometimes you had to make space for those implications to _settle._

“I think this calls for a two-hour lunch.” Rossi said it in a tone that implied he might not come back to the office at all that day. He glanced over at Hotch with a raised eyebrow anyway - token gestures are important. “My treat.”

Hotch nodded once: _very un-bureaucratic lunch break approved._

“We can’t.” Reid blurted.

“We’re supposed to be looking for a place to live. We have three houses to see this afternoon.” Prentiss said it as if she were looking forward to it as much as to dental surgery. Reid sympathized - finding a reasonable space in D.C. was proving exponentially harder than he’d imagined.

“Where are you looking?” Morgan’s forehead did its squiggle of concern.

“Wherever we can afford that’s still within reasonable commuting distance for us - Emily just got a job at the State Department…” Reid sighed. “And it’d be nice if it wasn’t the size of a shoebox.”

“He has _so many_ books and sweaters…” Prentiss huffed dramatically and then winked at him when he glared at her over Izzy’s head.

“I just finished renovating a two-bedroom in Georgetown.” Morgan held out his hand as if the house were right there in his palm. “The next step was to put it on the market, but it’s a little soft at the moment. I could see my way to renting it out to reliable tenants instead… maybe bamboozle them into buying it eventually? Whaddaya say - wanna take a look?”

“I don’t know if we cou-” Reid began.

“Of course you can.” Morgan cut him off with a glittering smile. “It’s not perfect - Georgetown is still a bit of a commute and there’s only street parking, but it’s got a small yard, great light, and the interior is completely new. I even installed a state-of-the-art security system. All it needs now are some people to appreciate it.”

“Derek, I might officially adore you a little right now. We’d love to see it.” Prentiss’s smile matched Morgan’s and Reid decided that maybe that alone was worth the potential pitfalls of having a friend as a landlord. Besides, he actually hated siphoning off time with his family to deal with this problem.

“Whoa, whoa, P. Keep that on the down-low. I’m not into angry husbands…” Morgan jutted his chin at Reid.

“What about angry technical analysts?” Garcia crossed her arms and gave him a look.

“I’m a lover, not a fighter, Baby Girl. But if conflict is what gets your motor running, I’m ready to do battle.”

“So wildly inappropriate…” Garcia cooed.

“Get a room, you two.” Prentiss kept her voice low. “Take some advice from someone who’s been there.”

Reid gave Prentiss a sharp look and then dropped his face into Izzy’s hair to hide his blush. What happened to _‘they don’t need to know that’_?

“Great. Now that’s settled… lunch?” Rossi clapped his hands impatiently.

“Lunch.” The group said in unison and then moved quickly to collect their things. Izzy mumbled ‘lunch!’ into Reid’s shoulder and he kissed her head thinking that this situation probably wouldn’t have turned out half as well without her.

\-------------------

The only light in the room came from the long, Victorian windows that framed the southern wall. The full moon painted it in light blues and greys, outlining the haphazard right angles made by the boxes scattered across the floor. Their determined geometry dominated the space until the shadows and light fell across the moving curves of the bed. The muted swish of passing traffic highlighted the hiss as the sheets moved, cotton cinching itself around bodies that sighed in sympathy with the rain ticking against the windows.

“Spencer…” Her voice barely made a sound as she arched in his grip.

He hissed as his hand clasped her hip, trying to keep her still as he pushed into her again. The ring he wore was a cool band against the heat of her, and when she grabbed him as she fought to move, the gold clinked almost imperceptibly where hers met his. His hand skimmed her body, taking hers with it, as he crossed his arm over her chest and pulled her back into him. His chest slipped along the length of her back now as he shifted, the curve of her ass an obscene pleasure as he rocked against it over and over. He breathed hard into the back of her neck as he swayed, trying for a little control over the tightness that he felt everywhere.

“You feel… too good. It’s gonna be a problem _very_ soon…”

She twisted into him and then whimpered, her whole body shuddering from it, and he resisted the urge to bite her in punishment for forcing him to cede more of his control. He brushed his teeth along her shoulder instead; whenever she went non-verbal, she was too close to exercise much control anyway. 

He slid against her, harder, faster, tangling his calves around hers so that they were in an exaggerated spooning position. His free hand curled around her waist and then skimmed down to her core where he proceeded to make a hot, damn mess of her. She bucked against him as much as she could, gasping out the syllables that made his name, and then roughly took his fingers in her own showing him how much further he could push her. He twitched inside her, biting his lip as she rocked and then strained, breaking with a loud cry that sounded almost painful. She turned her head, mewling into the sheets, and rolled her hips to get as much of him as she could. She tightened everywhere, her fingers biting into his where they laced together. 

He tried hard to wait until she was through it, but she pulled him in, riding him down _just_ enough to make it feel totally unbearable. He thrust into her hard and uneven, his hips no longer taking commands from his brain, and gave himself over to letting go. He collapsed into her again and again, like a machine without a minder, and didn’t stop until the cramping in his thighs forced him to realize that he couldn’t get any closer to her. He struggled to let go - he wanted to stay in that near-perfect second with her forever - but she had already passed through it going limp in his arms. The come down should’ve been disappointing, he always thought, backing away from the closest to perfection that humans ever got. But instead, he only found hope there, and the anticipation of more chances _to try_ for it with her. 

“Ooohhhh, Mrs. Mysterious…” He whispered into her back and felt her chest hiccup with a surprised giggle.

“Is that nickname sticking?”

“I kinda like it: Dr. and Mrs. Mysterious… it makes us sound like super villains from a Saturday morning cartoon.”

She turned under his hands and slowly settled against him, face to face. “Is that how you see us - a dastardly, evil team?” She was smiling in the dark.

“I’m just smart and reckless enough to be one Gamma radiation accident away from it, and you kick all manner of ass. I bet that you’d look good in tall, shiny boots too.” He kissed her while stroking hair away from her face. For once she looked as unkempt as he did and he loved that. “Izzy would probably be our number one fan…”

“Speaking of Izzy…” She let the sentence hang there and sighed as if trying to wordlessly apologize for it.

“It might not be too late to call.” He whispered. “She might have conned Hotch into reading her more than one bedtime story…”

“No.” She shook her head against his chest. “We already called once. I’m just pulling a ‘Crazy Mom’… she couldn’t be any safer than with Hotch and it was very kind of him to offer his babysitting services so that we could get a little alone time during the move. It would be rude to harass him, and she’d be irritated that we still think of her as a baby.”

“She’ll always be our baby, Em, and she’s only six…”

“No. We needed a little time to focus on something other than tiny, demanding human priorities…” He felt her lips brush the center of his chest and then leave a wet halo in their wake. “Like… _newlywed_ priorities.”

He chuckled. “Newlyweds who have known each other for thirteen years?”

“I haven’t been able to coax those sounds out of you for thirteen years, Spence.” She breathed up his neck and he felt his skin almost strain to meet her lips.

“Making you feel like that will always be one of my top priorities, despite Izzy’s generalized disgust at such matters.”

He found her lips, soft and warm and full, and gave into them with alliterative satisfaction. She pulled him under and then let him go with a smile just when he thought he couldn’t take anymore. It was sorcery that she cast over and over, as she had that first time in London when she left him shaking and desperate to touch her again. His hands framed her face, sinking into her hair as he came up for breath. Her name fell from his lips like the wind chimes of memory, bringing with it years of silent meaning. 

“Did you mean what you said to the team?” She whispered eventually. “That we did everything backwards? That we didn’t fall in love until we started raising Izzy?”

This was tricky. “I don’t know if I was in love after those three days in London, Emily. But I was certainly… entranced. Do you think that we would’ve continued with it if you _hadn’t_ discovered that you were pregnant?”

“I don’t know. Probably not.” She ducked her face between their pressed shoulders. “It would’ve been a lot of work for a ‘let’s see’ situation.”

He closed his eyes and sighed deeply; he guessed that he always knew that. Her palm warmed the side of his face and he opened his eyes to find her staring at him earnestly.

“Do you remember the first time you saw Izzy?” She murmured.

He’d never forget that even if it were possible for him. She’d called him in D.C. when her labor started earlier than expected. By the time he’d organized a last minute flight and made his way through the annoying gauntlet of international travel to her flat, Izzy was already two days old. Emily, pale and exhausted, had led him from the lift to the small white bassinet in her bedroom before collapsing on her own bed as he introduced himself. He marveled at how tiny she was, how perfectly bundled up in her swaddle and sleeping as if everything were right with the world. Lazy, dark curls framed her little head - he wasn’t sure if newborns were supposed to have hair or not - and he couldn’t stop himself from reaching out to touch them. Then he couldn’t _not_ hold her. He picked her up without even checking to see if he was doing it correctly.

“I looked at you and asked how you could love someone so completely that you’ve only just met.”

Prentiss nodded and gave him the smile that he cherished. “I felt the same way, but not just about Izzy. That moment, I felt as though I’d met you for the first time. I loved you terribly then, as you stood there holding Isabelle as though you’d never want to hold anything else. All I could think was… how could I have been next to him all that time and _not known?_ ”

“Emily.” He pulled her into him and held her tight enough to bruise. Her arms encircled him, one tracing up his spine and the other clutching the tangles at the back of his head as she cradled him. It felt as sure and real as the first time he picked up his daughter.

“Isabelle saved us, you and I.” She mumbled into his skin and punctuated it with a kiss. “Maybe we did do it all backwards… we had to have a child before we recognized what we were missing.”

“I don’t care.” He was rocking her against him. “I have you now… I _love you_ now. I don’t care if people think we did this wrong - it’s possible that it might not have happened any other way.”

“But, what you said at the BAU…”

“I needed to paint it in a way that they’d understand. Maybe they’d only get it if they saw it as a comedy of errors that nonetheless had a destined happily-ever-after to it. The bumbling genius makes good with the pretty girl in spite of himself… Maybe I thought that they’d look down on us or what we have _because_ of the unusual way it unfolded. I’ll never be able to look on Isabelle as an accident, or see us falling in love as some sort of convenience born out of proximity and necessity. Your existences are far too important to me to be left to that kind of chance.”

He felt her breath tickle along his throat, brush across his chin. Her fingers traced his face in the dark and he listened to the sound that she made as she tried to settle herself enough to speak. That small, uneven noise made his heart swell until he thought it might crack his ribs.

“Oh my, Dr. Mysterious…” She whispered. “You really _are_ in love, aren’t you?”

“It’s a hopeless case.” He traced the words over her lips. “Completely permanent.”

She watched him for a split second in the dark and then rolled them both so that he lay under her. She sank into his mouth with a husky ‘C’mere’ that he’d never heard from her before, but hoped that he’d experience more often in the future. They tangled again, arms encircling, fingers threading, lips roaming languidly over warm skin that tasted of them both. When the phone rang on the nightstand, they both jumped in surprise and then grumbled as they fought to unlace themselves from each other.

“It’s mine.” Reid growled and picked up the phone without looking at the number. “Hello?” 

A quick, tortured conversation ensued in which Reid attempted to _not_ let on that Prentiss was slowly kissing her way down his torso in order to get to a location that would shut down his speech centers entirely.

“No… no, that’s not a problem, Hotch. I’ll be right over… don’t worry. I’m sorta surprised that it didn’t happen earlier. Thanks for being so understanding… Nope, I’ll be on the road in five minutes. See you soon.”

He ended the call and let out a loud hiss just as Prentiss clued into the overheard conversation and left him half aroused under her.

“Oh no. What’s up?”

“It seems as though your ‘Crazy Mom’ instincts were on the money. Izzy had a bad dream. She wants to come home.”

“So much for newlywed priorities…”

“I’m not done with you yet.” He grumbled and attacked her lips just long enough to show her how irksome getting wound up, and then distracted, could be. Then he shuffled out from under her and rooted around in the dark for his clothes. “We’ll just have to delay it for a while. And then eventually be very, very quiet.”

Prentiss huffed unappreciatively from the bed. “Fine. Lemme get some clothes on…”

“Nope. I’ve got this.” He stubbed his toe on a nearby box and had to rein in an explosion of obscenities while shrugging into a shirt. “ _You_ should clear away some of these boxes… make a path for a crazed six year old with a shoddy sense of personal safety…”

“You leave me with all of the fun stuff…”

“You _are_ the fun stuff.” He bent over and kissed her. “So, technically, I have no choice but to leave it with you. Keys?”

“On the table by the front door.” She murmured. “Hurry back. I’ll heat up some milk for the distraught munchkin…”

He was already down the hall and was hoping that he’d left a pair of shoes by the front door when he barked his shin on another box. This time he did swear loudly and yelled out ‘Boxes!’ over his shoulder only to elicit distant laughter from the bedroom. The scene suddenly struck him as weirdly discordant with _any_ imagined outcome that he previously had for his life. He was rushing through _his_ new house, to pick up _his_ daughter, and bring her home for he and _his wife_ to console. The idea was so achingly comforting to him that it left him temporarily stunned. He stood leaning against the table in the hall, one sockless foot shoved into a shoe, as he let the obvious settle over him: _this is my life._

There was a loud thump from the bedroom followed by a tremendous gust of swearing and it snapped him back into reality with a smile. He clasped the car keys, crammed his other foot into a shoe, and was out the door before Prentiss could recover from her battle with the moving boxes. There was no time to lose, he realized; he couldn’t wait to get all of the Reids back under one roof again.

**Author's Note:**

> This story continues with [The Friendship Suggestion](http://archiveofourown.org/works/2784398).


End file.
